Armor
by fortunesque
Summary: It protects Shepard, yet it has a tendency to inconvenience her. Little does she know that it does so much more. Shenko
1. Therum

Here's a oneshot collection. Shenko.

The _Normandy_'s decontamination scan took too long. Shepard's armor clung to her body more than it should have. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened to reveal the mildly cool air of the ship. The normally inoffensive temperature did little to abate the heat that resided inside Shepard's poreless armor. She took an exhausted step forward, the red and black Colossus armor crawling further up her rear than was comfortable.

Kaidan watched Shepard from behind, his eyes following the way the armor wedged itself into the crack of her shapely bottom. He was already hot, and the damn armor clinging to both their bodies just made him hotter in more ways than one. The Lieutenant looked away, deciding that he didn't have enough energy to waste on ogling the Commander. He filed the incident under 'things to remember later on a lonely night'.

Shepard lethargically plodded her way down to her quarters, briefly stopping to mumble something to the newly joined Liara T'Soni and point to the med bay door. She quickly disarmed, put her weapons in her locker and continued on her way to the place where she could finally remove her second skin.

She was immediately irritated at having to pause for a half of a second in order for the door to open.

As soon as the door of her quarters closed behind the Commander, she flipped on her fan and began to remove the hard pieces of armor that covered the zipper. When the fastener was found, she clawed at it, pulling on where the material connected so the damned thing would be able to go down. After all the innovations from first contact, it figured that armor would have a difficult removal. One had to be careful in the process of unzipping to not snag anything. It made Shepard glad she was a female. There was no body hair or other things for the ruthless zipper to contend with.

Her hands separated the front part of the armor, slowly peeling it away from her moist skin. After a long struggle with unsticking her encased arms, the Commander finally freed her top half. She paused for a few seconds, relishing the feeling of the cool air ghosting across her bare chest and back.

The bliss didn't last long when Shepard was reminded of her feet throbbing from having been on them for too long. She mercilessly tore at the rest of her armor to shimmy it down to her hips. By pulling on the boots, she was able to make slight progress in removing it from her thighs. The next part was always the most difficult. The armor tended to stick to the Commander's bare legs. It was quite the catch 22; if she didn't shave her legs before she put the armor on, the hair became unbearably itchy and prickly. But, if she did shave, the armor was much harder to remove. She was damned either way.

Shepard opted to perform the 'angry armor' dance that alternated hopping and pulling. Grunts and curses generally played as the soundtrack to the rythmless dance. The particular 'Dance of the Removal of Armor Worn on Therum' selection included a strangled scream of rage. Finally, the armor gave way and mercifully came off. The Commander left the expensive suit of armor in a floppy pile on the floor as her tired feet led her to her bed. She violently threw the sheets off and flopped down on the bed, her nude body spread out like a star. Cool air enveloped her sore muscles as the Commander quickly fell into a blissful sleep.

Two hours passed and the battered Lieutenant made his way to Shepard's quarters to summon her for the meeting. The elevator moseyed its way up the shaft, heedless that the Lieutenant within ached all over; standing only exacerbated the problem. His listless eyes watched as the tiles on the side of the elevator crept by. They were proof that the elevator was indeed, extremely slow. One day he would have to hack it to see if it could go faster.

He sighed as the door opened. The Lieutenant would hack the elevator when he actually had the energy. He was lucky enough to be able to remove his sticky armor and take a shower, armor removal dance notwithstanding. Kaidan's boots noiselessly trekked to Shepard's door. The green light was lit; the door was unlocked and he could enter. He pressed the button and the doors opened.

A blast of cold air hit him in the face and his jaw dropped. There, in the middle of the bed, lay Shepard, completely nude and asleep. Her limbs were spread wide to invite the cold air to explore her warrior's body. The Lieutenant's uninvited eyes explored as well.

After a few blinks, Kaidan roused himself from his stunned stupor. Quickly, his hand reached to the right side of the door where the lock resided. He pressed it and withdrew from the closing portal. Turning, he walked to the cockpit to have Joker page Shepard over the intercom. To everyone else's' knowledge, the door had been locked since the shore party dispersed.

As he strode to the cockpit, his exhausted mind tried to add up what he had just seen. He shook his head, too tired to think on what happened further. Again, the hapless Lieutenant mentally filed the incident under 'things to remember later on a lonely night'.


	2. Feros

I do not own Mass effect nor do I make money from writing this.

A/n: I don't quite remember the exact dialogue from some of the parts, so I've improvised. Also, this shit is really long for something written by me. It appears that this oneshot series has grown exponentially. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

"Whatever that thing was, it sure wasn't human," Kaidan said as he looked at the pile of human-like goo they had just gunned down.

"We have that gas upgrade for our grenades. Do you want us to use it, Commander?" Garrus asked. The former C-Sec officer's eyes narrowed on the door in front of them. Who knew what waited inside?

"I…" Shepard closed her eyes and swallowed, "unless either of you are holding out on me, we're out of grenades." She didn't need to look at the team behind her. Garrus would flex his mandibles in worry, and Kaidan's hand would go behind his head to rub his neck. The Lieutenant always did this when he was uncomfortable.

"How are our shields? Can we take a few hits?" Kaidan's low voice resounded behind her. "If we can get close enough, we can hopefully knock them out."

Shepard chuckled. "Like Manuel?" she asked, turning around to flash her team a wry grin. Sometimes she got carried away with things.

"Yes, just like that," the Lieutenant mused. His introduction to Shepard was odd indeed; the Commander smacked a defenseless, insane man upside the head to get him to shut up. It was funny when he later thought about it. But, in that same mission they lost one of their own. He had the distinct feeling that this mission would be bittersweet as well.

"Alright," Shepard said as pulled her shotgun from its holster, "try to knock them out physically, but don't take any chances. I need both of you to get out of this mission unharmed."

"Ready for anything, Commander," Kaidan nodded as he drew his sidearm.

"Please, don't say that," Shepard mumbled as she pushed the button to open the bay door.

In front of them, a small army of Thorian creepers crouched. Within seconds, though, they slowly awoke one by one; each mindless plant minion was bent on the goal of destroying the intruders. Shepard took aim and fired. The sickening yet satisfying splat of the destroyed creeper awoke the next. Above the trio, colonists fired upon them. The kinetic shields weakened under their desperate mind controlled blasts but were not destroyed.

The Lieutenant stealthily flanked along the left side of the slow-moving creepers toward the distracted colonists. When he was within six feet of them, he leaped, his powerful leg muscles propelling him forward. His training kicked into overdrive as his hand descended upon the colonist on the right, incapacitating him. He whirled to the left with his elbow extended; the second colonist crumbled to the ground. Using the makeshift cover, he threw as many creepers as possible against the far wall with his biotics, watching in morbid fascination as they exploded like popped water balloons on contact. The garage was cleared.

The successive areas were cleared of hostiles in a similar fashion; more colonists crumbled to the ground under the marines' deft blows. They crept down the corridor to where Zhu's Hope waited. A sudden rain of bullets signaled that they had been spotted. Shepard stopped at the doorway, her hands gripping her shotgun. The shields were depleted.

Garrus leaned back as far as he could against the cover that the left side of the door provided. The situation wasn't good. They couldn't wait for the shields to recover; the colonists knew they were there and could make an assault at any time. He looked over at Shepard, waiting for orders. Would this woman allow them to fire upon the innocent humans? The turian hoped she would see that the greater good was in completing the mission.

He blinked for a second as he gazed upon the Commander. She stood in a half crouching position, her body ready to spring at a moment's notice. Behind her, Alenko assumed the same position, his large form dwarfing hers. His back was pressed against the wall; there wasn't much room in the tiny alcove. Shepard pressed herself against him, the top of her head only coming to his shoulder. The differences between the male and female humans in front of him were stark, yet these strange creatures looked like they belonged together. Was it always like this with male and female humans? Did they usually appear to fit so perfectly against each other? He tried to picture Williams in the same position and concluded a definitive 'no'. There was something about these two that was different. Garrus turned his hawk-like eyes to the colonists; he would observe them more carefully when his life wasn't endangered.

"I want a clean sweep," Shepard's voice rang out over the gunfire, "nothing hostile lives to take a second shot. We can't risk it when there's a galaxy at stake."

Both members of the team signaled an affirmative; Shepard quickly darted from her cover to a preselected shipping crate that offered cover as well. The team dispersed, gunning down the colonists with superior firepower. Shepard darted to another place of cover and crouched in a puddle of Hollis Blake to fire upon more Thorian creepers. With the area cleared, the team battled their way to the freight controls.

The remaining colonists were systematically gunned down. Shepard watched stone-faced as Fai Dan overcame the Thorian's mind control and shot himself. She had a job to do. There would be time to think about this later.

Shepard walked over to the crane controls, her jaw tensed. Hana Murakami's body lay over the panel. Even in death, the colonist's hands tightly gripped the control panel in an effort to block the invaders from the Thorian's lair. The Commander attempted to push the corpse out of the way, but the effort was for naught. They had to get to the Thorian before more geth arrived.

Shepard stood behind the corpse, trying to get decent footing in the puddle of blood in which she stood. Wrapping her arms around the torso, she pulled with all her might. The Commander lost her balance and quickly slid to the ground. The body remained where it was; Shepard landed on her bottom in the puddle of blood with a shallow splash, her hands trying desperately to break her fall.

The other members of the team whipped their heads around at the noise. They had been rechecking the perimeter to make sure that Shepard was covered. Kaidan blinked at Shepard's awkward situation and strode over to where she sat. He offered her a sweet smile and his hand to help her up.

Shepard smiled in turn and took his hand. Blood transferred from her arm to his, but he chose to ignore it.

"Well," Shepard looked up at the Lieutenant through her eyelashes, "It's good to see that chivalry isn't dead."

"Of course not, ma'am," he smiled, his cheeks staining red.

The Spectre chuckled to herself. Here she was an ex-member of the Tenth Street Reds, the 'Butcher of Torfan', and the first human Spectre. She had just gunned down the majority of a colony of mind controlled humans and was covered in blood and God knew what else. And her subordinate officer was blushing and smiling over her. It led her to conclude one of two things: either he was raving mad, or she still had it. Perhaps they were both mad and both had it. She glanced over at the Lieutenant who was in the process of extracting the corpse from the crane control panel. Her eyes appraised his form and she concluded that, without a doubt, he sure had it. The Lieutenant was a damn fine piece of art.

Garrus watched Shepard's exchange with the Lieutenant. Humans had many phrases, so he would have to find out what Shepard meant when she said that chivalry wasn't dead. The former C-Sec officer felt a slight thrill at getting a chance to investigate a most interesting case. There was something more between these two humans and he would get to the bottom of it. He readied himself when he saw the crane lift the freighter to uncover a set of stairs.

The trio set off to find the Thorian, their weapons drawn. This time, they would really be ready for anything.

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The Thorian had a distinct smell. To Shepard, it was like the many dumpsters she had to wade through in order to find food when she was a troubled teen. At least they had been able to dispatch of the Creepers in a well ventilated area before; now they were forced to shoot the blasted things when they were not more than a foot away.

"I understand the slapping and clawing, but is the vomit really necessary?" the Lieutenant said as he reappeared from behind a corner. His olive complexion took on a greenish tone to match the Thorian goo that covered him.

"I wish I knew why as well," Shepard sympathized. It seemed like the goal of the creepers was to completely disgust them into not wanting to bother with the Thorian. When they would get within a foot of a creeper, it would projectile vomit all over whoever was nearby. Shepard looked over at Garrus, who seemed to be relatively unaffected by the present circumstances.

"There can't be many nodes left; that thing should drop soon," he said as he trotted off to the next room. Shepard and her Lieutenant exchanged odd looks and followed the turian. The team covered the Commander as she blasted the neural node with her shotgun. Finally, the node gave way and the Thorian fell into the abyss, displacing the rancid air as it went. The creepers all simultaneously exploded upon their master's defeat; the group was showered in a rain of the vilest substance they had ever encountered.

"Oh," Garrus blinked, "now I smell it. That is… disgusting." He holstered his weapon and attempted to wipe off the offensive sludge.

Kaidan's jaw dropped, the action making him gag as he received a gigantic whiff of the Thorian. "You couldn't smell that before?" he whimpered.

"I'm not a mammal," the turian sighed, "so my sense of smell isn't as strong as yours. Turians are avian-reptilian, if you could fit us into a category."

The Lieutenant nodded, afraid to open his mouth again until they were out in the open air. He looked over at Shepard who was speaking with the asari that they had recently released. Hopefully they would be closer to finding the conduit, though nobody seemed to know what it was. At least they were able to follow Saren's trail of crumbs. For an ex-Spectre, the turian sure left lots of loose ends. He watched Shepard go into a trance as the asari named Shiala gave her something called the Cipher. After a quiet minute, the transfer was over. Shepard looked ill.

"You look a little pale," Kaidan mentally congratulated himself on choosing an inoffensive word, "we should get you back to the ship." He stepped forward to help Shepard.

Shiala said something about staying to protect the colonists, but the Spectre couldn't care less. She was about to collapse from the sudden influx of information. There were people, places and words in her head that had never been there before. She leaned heavily on her Lieutenant, glad that he was there to help her.

"Chivalry again?" she asked, swooning from the information swirling about her head.

"Always, ma'am," he replied, looking her in the eyes.

Shepard smiled. She wondered why she always found herself attracted to brunettes with deep, sad eyes. He was really handsome and she felt almost drunken from receiving the Cipher. They began to stumble forward to fresher air, Garrus and Shiala taking up the rear.

Juliana Baynham waited with the surviving black-eyed and bruised colonists at the top of the stairwell. Her thanks fell on deaf ears as Shepard stumbled her way to the Normandy, her team members faithfully at her side. Thankfully, the colony's water supply had been repaired while the team was on its way back from the ExoGeni headquarters; there was no way that Shepard was going to allow the stench of the Thorian nor the blood of the colonists to enter the _Normandy_. The first was a practical matter; nobody wanted to smell Thorian. The second was a superstitious matter; if the blood of the colonists was brought on board, it would surely bring bad luck. That was how Shepard saw things.

Williams made her way through the airlock to see to the Commander. The shore party would need to disarm before they got hosed off. She eyed the tarp in her hands; apparently it had been a messy job. The ship's doors opened to reveal the ugly truth. Ash gagged when the smell hit her nose.

"What the hell is that?" she said, trying desperately to breathe shallow breaths.

"Projectile vomit," the Lieutenant drawled, "you get used to it after the nerve endings in your nose get fried."

"You know what, I believe you," she replied, laying the tarp out. "Just put the weapons here. I'll see to it that they're as good as new." She hastily spun around to grab Shepard's arm. It was covered in blood.

"LT," she shouted, "did you not see to the Commander's arm? Or has chivalry died a gruesome death?" Ash knew she overstepped her bounds with her commanding officer, but she also knew she could get away with it. The LT was very relaxed for a commanding officer. Besides, she knew the man had a flaming crush on Shepard. His reaction to the cut would be priceless.

"That's not hers, Ash," he quipped. The Lieutenant disarmed with a smug look on his face. He suspected the Chief's game but wasn't quite sure what her angle was.

"Didja see my ass?" Shepard asked, turning around to show off her blood covered rear. "It's like I perioded all over myself."

"Um, Shepard," Ash chuckled, "if your period looks like that, you may want to see the doctor and ask about spontaneous abortions."

Shepard's eyes widened. "But I haven't had the sex in… hmmmm…" she trailed off, trying to remember, "since I enlisted, I guess." The Commander made a pouty face.

"Oh Shepard, you will have sex. Trust me, sometime soon, you will," Ash wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as she helped the delirious Spectre disarm. She looked over the shorter woman's shoulder and caught the Lieutenant's blushing gaze. "What the hell happened to her?" she mouthed silently. Shepard stumbled away to hose off.

"Put shortly," he lowered his voice to keep the conversation quiet, "she had the memories of the entire Prothean race downloaded into her head. She's been a little delirious since. That, and we had to do some unpleasant business not too long ago." His concerned gaze leveled on the Commander.

"Unpleasant business?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Look," he sighed and fidgeted in discomfort, "the geth were after a creature called the Thorian. It was able to mentally enslave the colonists and make them attack us. We weren't able to save many."

"So that blood isn't hers," Ash stated, her eyes drifting over to Shepard.

"No," he said and turned to be washed as well. One thing irked him: was Shepard acting strange because of the cipher, or as a coping mechanism? He would be sure to find out, one way or the other.

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams looked down at her hand, wondering whose blood was on it. She knew that by following Shepard, she was likely to be involved in some shady business. Upon hearing the circumstances, however, she knew that Shepard made the right call. There would be other tough decisions made in the future and she trusted the Commander to make the right ones. Ash closed her bloodied hand. She would follow Shepard, even if it meant that the blood the Commander spilled would be on her hands as well.

She picked up the tarp of guns and headed for the _Normandy_. Ash forgot to wash the blood off of her hand outside.

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Shepard's armor was considerably less smelly than it had been before. But it was still damp and it was beginning to stick to some rather unfavorable areas of her body. This was quite uncomfortable. She trudged to the Normandy's doors, each successive step producing a grinding squeak that only the medium Colossus armor could make. This time, Shepard ranked the wedgie very high on the ridiculous scale. It hugged her more intimately than a thong, and briefly the Commander wondered if the armor was secretly trying to molest her. Again, the decontamination scan took too long.

This time, Lieutenant Alenko had enough energy to watch the Commander walk to the ship. Upon seeing the way her armor once again wedged itself into the crack of her bottom, he almost wished he was too exhausted to care. With each step she made, her lovely backside jiggled in the most wonderful way; it was the firm jiggle of toned muscle working under skin-tight armor. He had to mentally check himself from vocalizing his approval. And Shepard said she hadn't had sex since she enlisted at eighteen. She was twenty-nine now. She'd be taking that armor off soon…

"Oh God," he gasped, his head quickly snapping to the left to look at the wall to be blinded by the decontamination scan's light. Momentarily, he was happy for the uncomfortable, confining armor; namely he was happy for the cup that conveniently hid his raging hard-on. What the hell was wrong with him lately? He sighed, knowing he'd have to be extremely careful with the zipper when he removed the armor.

The decontamination scan ended and each member of the shore party went to deal with their own problems. Shepard trudged to her quarters, her face completely blank. When the door shut behind her, the Commander's face fell. Since when was it appropriate to make light of the death of an innocent civilian? And why did she have to act up at the most inappropriate times?

She slowly removed the parts of her armor that covered the zipper. This time, the zipper gave way easily, as if it sensed that the Commander had enough trouble already. The armor itself didn't get the memo. Shepard tugged on the sleeves, yearning to break free from that which protected her from the bullets of the desperate, mind controlled colonists. As she freed her torso, she tried to remind herself that there were no other options. The sleeve of her armor, now clean, caught her view. She choked back a sob; it still didn't make the job any easier and it sure as hell didn't make her feel better. The 'Dance of the Removal of the Armor Worn on Feros' changed tempo as Shepard violently scrambled to get out of the uniform that made her kill the colonists. It clung desperately to her shaved legs, reminding her that she could never escape what happened. The Commander stumbled out of the bottom part of the armor.

As she tried to make her way to her bed, the pile of armor tripped her. Her vision blurred as she viciously kicked it away from her in spite. Shepard made her way to where she kept her clothes and selected a random pair of panties and a tank top. Though she usually slept nude, the events of the day made her feel awkwardly exposed, even in her quarters.

Hot tears trailed down her cheeks as she cocooned herself into the covers as far as she could. Shepard closed her eyes. She was a murderer; she turned Kaidan and Garrus into murderers too. Her legs drew up to her abdomen, her body assuming a fetal position.

A knock sounded. Kaidan, her accomplice, was at the door.

She let him in.


	3. Virmire

A/n: My flashdrive is lost, but I will be continuing Parallax6 with the hopes of rewriting everything better. Now about Armor: This chapter is way different than I ever thought it would end up. Think of it as the darkness before the slightly light or something. Either way, Shepard is quite renegade here, but not ruthless. She's just really into breaking rules without thought. My premise is this: even those on the top of the heap can make mistakes and learn lessons from them. Also, this is rated M for a reason. It's at the absolute limit of what a fic rated "M" can have. Be warned.

* * *

"We go in hard, hit 'em harder, and we'll be the only damn thing that comes out the other side," Shepard's defiant voice echoed out over the crashing waves on the beach of Virmire.

Kaidan couldn't help but smirk at Shepard's choice of words. When he'd told her that he preferred 'adventurous' women, he meant it. Shepard was sassy and dangerous and he found himself absolutely magnetized by her fiery personality. Sexy didn't even begin to describe her. Smoldering was more like it.

Since Feros, their flirting had progressed to an all out frenzy of sexual banter and teasing, most of which was initiated and ended by Shepard. The light touches, the suggestive glances, and her heated words slowly drove the Lieutenant over the edge into the scorching fires of sexual frustration.

He had to remind himself that the mission came first; he had even told her that when things were over, everything would be different. The last thing he wanted to do was muddy things.

Shepard walked past him to talk to Liara for a moment, her hand intentionally brushing against his inner thigh.

Kaidan sucked in his breath, hoping to God that Saren would randomly drop dead, the Reapers would explode, and that the Conduit would fall from the sky with a letter congratulating them on saving the galaxy. Said letter would also have a large box of condoms next to it with a lovely tag addressed to him and Shepard. Waiting for the mission to be over was driving him absolutely nuts, and Shepard's continual affirmation that yes, she really wanted him, didn't help. He was normally a very patient, mellow kind of guy. But, it was almost as if Shepard was pressuring him into having sex.

He shook his head at the absurdity of the whole thing. No, she was simply expressing her interest in him.

Kaidan drew himself out of his thoughts as Shepard approached him with Liara in tow.

"You're coming with me," she murmured, lightly grabbing his arm and motioning him to follow.

He nodded and fell in line behind the Commander. The light splashing of the waves and the bright light of Hoc contradicted the somber mood of the mission. A sense of foreboding washed over the Lieutenant; Ash was not with them. Somehow , this mission wasn't going to turn out well. Sometimes, Kaidan just _knew_ things.

Liara sensed the same thing as Kaidan. She opened her mouth a few times, trying to think of something that would lighten the mood.

"I cannot believe all this sand I have in my…" she trailed off, realizing that her comment was inappropriate given her company, "never mind."

"Your what?" Kaidan asked. At this point, he was willing to talk about almost anything to keep his mind off the niggling worry in the back of his mind.

"My skin folds," she replied, "a human would not understand such a thing seeing as you do not have any."

"Trust me, I have sand in my skin folds," Shepard said as she turned around to look at her team.

"Shepard, you have hair instead of skin folds," Liara's brow drew down in confusion.

"My skin folds are currently sandy and hairless," she replied, looking pointedly at Kaidan.

He blinked a few times, trying to piece together what Shepard had said. His mouth formed an 'o' as his face turned red and his temperature rose. She was talking about her…

Hairless skin folds.

A shot rang out from a nearby geth listening post. There would be more time to think on this later. For the time being, he had to keep his head in the mission and out of his vivid imagination.

* * *

"Alenko, radio joker and tell him to meet us at the bomb site," Shepard 's authoritative voice echoed through the comms decisively.

"Yes, commander… I…" Kaidan's voice was cut short as Shepard disconnected quickly from his channel.

"Shepard," Ash said, "you made the right decision. I regret nothing."

The Commander opened a private link to the Chief so they could talk one on one for the last time.

"May I have a last request, ma'am?" Ash asked in between firing shots at the encroaching geth.

"Of course, Chief," Shepard said. She began her descent to go back to the bomb site.

"Please, have sex with the LT before you both explode," Ash chuckled, "the galaxy depends on it."

"Oh," Shepard laughed, "I can do that. Trust me, I will definitely do that."

Shepard and her small crew stood in the elevator, waiting for it to descend to the bottom floor. She closed her eyes for a moment and exhaled with a shuddering breath.

"I know he'll take good care of you, skipper. I'll be watching to make sure he does. I'll let you go now. Gotta' pay attention to what I'm doing," Ash said, her breathing labored.

"Dismissed, Chief," Shepard nodded. The elevator doors opened.

"Ma'am," Ash replied and shut off the comm.

Shepard burst out of the elevator, her shotgun ready to blast a hole through anything and everything that kept her from her Lieutenant. Reaching the large bay door, she punched the button to open it. The Commander didn't wait for the door to open to her height; she deftly rolled under its slow moving bulk. As soon as she righted herself, Shepard was greeted by the horror of watching a geth rocket slam into Kaidan's lightly armored body.

She cursed loudly at the geth that prevented her from checking on him and lashed out at them with all her fury. The team behind her followed suit, helping her to obliterate everything that stood in her path. As Shepard made her way back to Kaidan, a grenade dropping in front of her forced her back into a defensive position. She peered from behind her cover to see a figure standing on what appeared to be a hoverboard. Her eyes widened.

It was Saren.

She intended to make good on her promise that indeed, the next time she saw Saren, she would kill him. Three shots rang out as she aimed for the turian's torso. Were it not for his armor, the shots would have been spot on.

Oddly enough, Saren began to talk to Shepard. He told her of what she already knew. Sovereign and those like it were about to destroy the galaxy and there would be no escape. He wanted her to join them or she would be killed.

While the Commander absorbed his words, several thoughts hit her. Sovereign told her how superior it was to her and that she would die. After that, it shattered the console and quickly dropped Saren off at the base, knowing that after what it had told her, Shepard would never join them in destroying the galaxy, even if Saren talked to her. Therefore, it was a safe guess that she was to be eliminated immediately. What did this mean?

Sovereign was… worried? Afraid of her? Did it even feel emotions?

Shepard smirked wickedly as she realized that she somehow had the upper hand. Her weight shifted as she prepared to lunge at Saren. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Kaidan slowly attempting to rise to his feet.

"I'd rather die fighting than to be a slave!" the Commander bellowed, leaping out from her cover to fire upon Saren.

His hoverboard helped him escape most of Shepard's hits, but even his swift maneuvering couldn't dodge her impressive marksman skills. Begrudgingly, Saren had to admit that the human female was a skilled fighter. Maybe there was time to stop the reapers. Maybe Shepard could…

A sharp pain at the back of his skull stopped Saren in mid-thought. The scraping and gnawing demanded his loyalty; it drowned out the alarms that signaled that the bomb was about to go off.

Shepard watched as Saren stopped and looked into the sky. He was in her sights. His shields were down. He wasn't moving. He was completely unguarded.

Her gun was overheated. She was out of grenades, tech mines, and her implants wouldn't put out any more energy than they already had.

Shepard never accepted ties. Ever.

And the slimy bastard knew he'd get away with a draw today. Rage boiled up inside her as she found herself unable to come to terms that he would get away.

Her hand reached behind her back to where she had a concealed dagger. With lightning speed, she withdrew it and threw it at her adversary, hitting him soundly in the belly. The wounded Saren screamed in pain and sped off as quickly as possible. Were it not for his thick turian skin, the blow would have been fatal.

Saren's disappearance snapped Shepard back into reality. The Normandy made quick landfall; the bomb was ready to explode at any moment. Shepard looked over to Kaidan who tried to rise from his prone position in the murky water. She ran to him and offered her hand. He moved too slowly. They needed to get out of there immediately. She wasn't going to leave him. She couldn't leave him.

"Mine!" the Commander shouted and hauled him up out of the water. Virmire couldn't claim him; he was taken. Shepard found a handhold in his armor, hoisted him above her shoulder, and carried him to the Normandy.

The docking bay door closed and the prototype ship's engines roared to life in time to barely outrun the blast. All available personnel crowded around the ground team. Something had gone terribly wrong.

"Where's Chief Williams?" a crewmember asked. Nobody answered.

"Would you like us to get a stretcher, ma'am?" another inquired.

Shepard shook her head 'no'. She couldn't let Kaidan go. The Commander strode over to the elevator, her precious cargo passed out over her shoulder.

It was almost humorous that this was the most bodily contact they'd ever had. She gripped him tighter as she realized that flirting and teasing wasn't enough. She almost lost him.

She needed him.

The elevator doors opened and Shepard stepped forward to the med bay. Dr. Chakwas received the Lieutenant and promptly shooed the Commander from the room. His armor needed to be removed so the damage could be assessed; Shepard realized that she ought to do the same.

The metal doors of the Commander's quarters closed behind her and she numbly reached to her right to engage the lock. Falling against the door, Shepard slid to the floor and wondered where she went wrong. Her hands fisted in her hair; she shouldn't have committed one of her soldiers to someone else's command. She should have insisted that they bring more ships along to investigate the situation.

And she knew that the Council would be insensitive to her loss.

Shepard had no time to mourn properly; she had to carry on. Some would say that she was fortunate that she was able to say goodbye. The Commander knew better; goodbye wasn't enough. Goodbye wasn't supposed to happen when you were in your twenties.

A sob escaped her lips, the sound lost against the cold metal walls of the uncaring ship.

The Commander knew she had to keep going. Slowly, she rose to begin the process of removing her armor. Shaking fingers removed the pieces of armor covering the zipper. Through her blurred vision, she drew down on the tab, the zipper giving way quickly. It rolled down her body, not protesting as her silent tears fell upon the intricately woven fibers.

But the legs always gave her problems.

After the armor relinquished its hold on her hips, it balked at being removed completely. The 'Dance of the Removal of the Armor Worn on Virmire' took a drastic change in tempo as Shepard's silent cries turned into sobs. Finally, the legs of the armor gave way. Little shards of Virmire scratched their way down the Commander's legs, leaving small, irritated trails in their wake. The golden grains rained down upon the metal floor to meet up with the deluge of Shepard's tears.

Her hands moved down to brush off as much of the clingy sand as she could. Through blurred vision, Shepard stumbled to her bed, wrapped the sheets around her body and buried her face in her pillow. She mentally berated herself for her selfish decision. Yes, Kaidan was the correct 'professional' choice.

He'd been hand picked by Captain Anderson to be part of the crew. Besides being higher in rank than Ash, Kaidan had many commendations from previous postings. He was one of the few stable, healthy L2 biotics, and he meticulously trained himself to keep his skills in peak condition. To top it all off, Kaidan was skilled in electronics and decryption and somehow found time to study first aid and medicine.

Though Ash had very impressive technical scores and was proficient in most weapons, she'd had a long list of terrible assignments. Shepard never held this against her, but it was easy to see that she hadn't seen much action at all. So, according to the Alliance, Kaidan was more valuable.

Shepard didn't pick Kaidan based on what the Alliance had to say.

She made the decision with her heart and not her head. She wanted Kaidan as her lover, not as her subordinate. Ash knew this and gave her life anyway. Not only that, she gave her blessing on their ill-conceived relationship. Truly, Ashley Williams was the greatest friend Shepard had. Now she was gone.

The Commander's tears began anew. She was very aware that they all accepted death when the put on the uniform. It didn't make things easier, and it sure as hell didn't make them right.

Slowly, fatigue overtook Shepard and she fell into a deep, nightmarish sleep.

* * *

A set of puffy eyes opened in the dim lighting of the Commander's quarters. Slowly, Shepard rolled over in bed, her face feeling as if it would crack under the film of dried tears that lined its surface. Somebody was at the door and by instinct, Shepard knew it was Kaidan. She glanced over at the clock on her nearby monitor. It was very late; nobody would be roaming the ship this time of night, though, admittedly, spacers kept very odd schedules because of the inconsistency of time. To them, the word 'night' was merely a construct meant to provide efficiency and task management.

Wrapping the sheet loosely around her body, Shepard stepped through the small dusting of sand to push the unlock button. The door opened immediately to reveal her Lieutenant. His eyes widened visibly at her state of undress.

"I can come back later if…" his sentence was cut off by Shepard's lips meeting his own in a frenzy.

The door slid shut and the Commander backed him into the wall. Her arms slid up around the back of his neck as she deepened the kiss, her tongue darting out to lick his lips. A deep moan was all Shepard needed. Their tongues met in a hungered fervor; her arms slid down his torso to slowly untuck his shirt. They broke the kiss as Shepard removed her Lieutenant's shirt and threw it on the floor to join the sand and armor.

She ran her nails up his stomach and chest, smirking when he moaned and leaned in to wantonly kiss her throat. Kaidan's lips parted as his head moved over to the soft area above her collarbone. He gently nipped the sensitive area and was rewarded with a shuddering gasp.

Shepard began to fiddle with his belt buckle; Kaidan's hooded eyes were drawn to the floor. There was still sand from Virmire there. He exhaled sharply and steeled himself to do the right thing.

"Shepard," he breathed, his hands stilling hers, "this isn't right."

"What?!" her expression grew defiant as she wrenched her hands from his. "The last time we talked…"

"A lot was said, I know," Kaidan exhaled and looked around the room awkwardly.

"You seemed so decisive then, Lieutenant," Shepard purred, "why so hesitant now?"

She pinned him down with her gaze and lightly raked her nails down his abdomen. Leaning in, her tongue darted out to flick his nipple. Shepard blinked in confusion at the look on his face. He looked almost… horrified.

"Y-you're…" he stammered, skirting around her, "Ash just died!" He pointed to the sand on the floor. "You're trying to pressure me into… I-it's too soon! It's disrespectful!"

Immediately, Shepard dropped her seductive façade.

"I don't understand you," she spat, "one minute you're hot, and the next you're cold." Tears began to well in her eyes. She'd almost lost him. Why was he pushing her away?

"Shepard, it's not like that," he sighed and tried to reach out to her. Instantly, she recoiled. His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Ash died instead of me. Regardless of how good of friends we all were, doing this now would be so…" he trailed off, trying to find a word that described how absolutely wrong it would be to have sex right after Ash's death.

"Get your shirt on and leave, then," Shepard sniffled and tried to hold back the tears, but it was to no avail.

Kaidan reached down, grabbed his shirt, and pulled it on. He opened his mouth to say something, but Shepard was quick to stop him.

"Look," she wrapped the sheet tighter around her body, "I just… I think I need to be alone right now. It'll be ok."

He silently nodded and left with a somber look on his face. As soon as he was gone, Shepard engaged the lock.

The tears from earlier began anew. Shepard knew he was right, but she also knew Ash's last wish. He didn't know what Ash had said. Perhaps Shepard was right as well. She looked down at the accusatory sand that lay on the floor. She was so selfish when he came to see her. She didn't ask about his injuries. She didn't even bother to have him wait outside the door for her to put some clothes on.

In some way, Shepard guessed that she wanted comfort on the most intimate level. It still didn't change things. How had it come to this? She was a highly trained soldier and a woman in authority, but this mission had shaken her to the core. Shepard had to piece herself back together before she pursued Kaidan further.

Slowly, the sheet-wrapped Commander shuffled over to the bed. There, on the dark colored sheets were light grains of sand.

Kaidan was right.

The sand of Virmire had to be cleaned up first.


	4. Noveria

A/n: In case you're wondering why this chapter is so short, it's been edited for sexual content. In fact, the majority of the chapter is a lemon. If you wish to read the explicit version and are of an appropriate age to do so, it is on my homepage on my profile.

This is the last chapter to Armor. I just wanted to let everyone know how much I've appreciated the hits and reviews. This is _not_ the end of this story arc! I will see you in the sequel, so be on the lookout for 'Conduit'! :D

* * *

Kaidan didn't understand.

Shepard left him behind on this mission; she'd always taken him with her whenever the mission directly involved Saren and the geth. Did she not trust him anymore? Maybe she just needed space. Maybe she chose the ground team that she took with her for reasons other than him.

But why did it hurt so much to be left behind?

He sat alone in the mess, his head in his hands. If Feros was any indication of how Saren operated, it was very likely that Shepard would end up in a dangerous position with Benezia. Kaidan knew he could trust Liara and Garrus to do well, but he would never forgive himself if something happened and he wasn't there to help.

They had been gone for too long and there were security guards standing right outside the ship, glaring at it. What was going on out there?

Finally, the moment of truth arrived; the gentle hum of the decon scan reached his ears. Kaidan perked up as he heard armored boots walking down the stairs. They rounded the corner. It was Garrus. He shot the turian a questioning look.

"Lieutenant Alenko," Garrus nodded and looked around at the empty space. His voice was quiet, his tone solemn as if someone had died.

Any question he might have asked was cut off by Shepard and Liara rounding the corner. The exhausted Commander had her arm around the asari as she led her to the medbay. He watched Liara mumble something to Shepard, then they embraced and parted ways. Garrus nodded at the Commander and touched her arm. For a moment, he eyed the closed medbay door in indecision. The turian shook his head and left for the engineering level.

Shepard put her weapons in her locker then strode over to her quarters. She opened the door and leveled her Lieutenant with a gaze that beaconed him closer.

Curious, Kaidan stood from his seat at the mess table and entered the Commander's quarters.

"We had to kill Benezia," Shepard murmured as she closed the door. "She was indoctrinated. Liara…"

Her sentence was cut off by a series of violent shivers. Kaidan moved behind Shepard to hold her.

"It's so cold out there," she said, her teeth chattering, "I don't think I can get this off by myself. My hands aren't steady."

He froze as soon as the words came out of Shepard's mouth.

"I'll just wear it to sleep, I guess," Shepard began to talk to herself, "it can't be that bad." She gently broke free of her Lieutenant's embrace.

"I can help you if you'd like," he said, his voice soft, "you need to get out of that armor and get warm."

She turned around and looked Kaidan in the eyes.

"I was just thinking out loud," her eyes grew huge, "I didn't mean to suggest that…"

"I know," Kaidan interrupted, "but it's not healthy for you to be sitting around shivering in that stuff."

Shepard hesitated for a moment then nodded. She shook as his hands slowly removed the protective parts that covered the zipper. Her eyes followed him as he almost reverently put them on the table. Kaidan reached for the tab to the zipper; she may have picked a different ground team, but only he could do this. It made him feel like a page that helped a knight with armor.

He would make this woman his.

Their eyes met as Kaidan gently tugged on the zipper to Shepard's armor. Slowly, he leaned in and stole a kiss from the shivering woman. Her shaking ceased as she looked up at him. The Lieutenant grew bolder and continued to unzip his Commander, his insistent mouth covering hers. Roving hands gently peeled the armor away from Shepard's torso; hungry lips tasted the newly revealed skin. The material rolled down her body and over her hips. Kaidan tugged when he felt the armor snag against Shepard's legs.

Shepard laughed as she hopped; her Lieutenant kept tugging.

"Access denied!" she chuckled. The insidious armor wouldn't budge.

"Please, Mr. Armor," Kaidan replied, "I promise I'll take care of her."

The 'Dance of the Removal of the Armor Worn on Noveria' turned serious once again as the Lieutenant kneeled before his Commander and gently pried the armor from her legs.

Gingerly, she held onto his shoulders, stepping out of the armor. His hands caressed up and down her abused legs as he gently kissed her stomach.

Kaidan slowly stood; a pair of cold hands worked their way under his shirt and tugged it over his head. Their lips met in a heated frenzy as their tongues brushed against each other. Kicking the armor to a corner of the room, Shepard began to unbuckle Kaidan's belt and drew her head back to gaze at him intently.

"No boots on my bed, mister," she purred as she turned around and walked away, the belt unwrapping from his waist in one smooth motion. It sailed through the air to land on the sloppy heap of armor.

Kaidan's mouth went dry; Shepard was so damn sexy. He plopped down on a nearby chair and scrambled to remove his boots and socks. The Lieutenant approached the bed as he began to unfasten his pants. Shepard pulled him in for another searing kiss and pushed his hands out of the way to remove the last of his clothing. Kaidan tipped her over on the bed and moved to cover her body with his.

Finally.

* * *

Shepard slowly awoke and stretched, her muscles screaming in protest. She looked at the sleeping man next to her and smiled. He was beyond incredible.

The Commander gingerly extracted herself from his embrace and made her way to her shower. Turning the water on, she sighed. There was so much to do yet. They had to go to Ilos.

Soapy water washed down the drain as Shepard lost herself in thought. Mechanically, she dried her aching body and strode over to the pile of armor on the floor.

Deep inside, she had a feeling of dread. Something was going to go terribly wrong. Whatever happened, though, she was sure that she could make a difference. Sovereign would not succeed. It was time for action.

Commander Shepard donned her armor, unaware of the new life that now nestled itself inside her womb.


End file.
